Moppa and MOPDtK

Moppa Elliott This Tuesday we were pleased to host Moppa Elliott from the band Mostly Other People Do the Killing on The Music Room.

Mostly Other People Do the Killing (MOPDtK) has released six albums and won the Downbeat Critics’ Poll in the Rising Star Ensemble category. They pay homage to jazz by deconstructing both its standards and earlier pieces, combining those features with new ideas, creating a high energy music that celebrates what’s come before and pushes the music forward.

Their unpredictable switching of styles mid-piece, their humorous and interactive performances, and their naming of each new piece after “a small town in Pennsylvania,” has earned them critical acclaim.

MOPDtK has toured throughout the Northeast and Midwest, from Chicago to Boston, and in 2009, made its first trip to Europe for the Moer Festival. Their most recent CD, Hannover, captures a live concert from a late 2014 appearance in Hannover, Germany.

Their 2014 album Blue is an homage–years in the making–to Miles Davis’ classic Kind of Blue LP, originally recorded in 1958 and released in 1959. It was fascinating to hear Moppa talk about the process of producing MOPDtK’s Blue.

Moppa also revealed how he balances his musical career with his teaching profession, and how the origins of the band’s name, Mostly Other People Do the Killing, has its roots in the history of both electronic music AND the Soviet Union.

The Interview

Moppa Elliott
(Recorded live 03/10/15; host: Mandorichard), 31:28, 30.2 MB.

The Music

The following music is heard in this episode of The Music Room:

  • Artist / Song / Album (or note) / Date / Notes
  • Mostly Other People Do the Killing / Bird in Hand / Red Hot / 2012
  • Mostly Other People Do the Killing / Blue in Greeen / Blue / 2014
  • Mostly Other People Do the Killing / Is Granny Spry? / Slippery Rock / 2013 (Excerpt)